News Release 555

DEPARTMENT MONITORING
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF JEFFERSON CITY EXPLOSION

Volume 35-555

Contact: Connie Patterson

(For immediate release)

573-751-1010

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, NOV. 28, 2007 -- Cleanup of waterways contaminated by Tuesday's tractor-trailer accident in Jefferson City is continuing today, and excavation of contaminated soil will begin, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The department's Environmental Emergency Response section will continue to oversee the cleanup of waterways affected by the release of diesel fuel following the crash and explosion involving a tanker truck carrying nearly 8,000 of gasoline, ethanol and diesel fuel. Work will also begin today on the excavation of a concrete spillway near the accident site.

One of two vacuum trucks from Environmental Restoration, a St. Louis environmental cleanup company contracted by the truck's owner, Western Oil Inc, Earth City, arrived at the scene about 5 p.m. Tuesday. That truck began retrieving contaminated water from an area behind one of the two containment dams built earlier in the day to prevent escaped fuel from entering Wear's Creek. The second truck was used late Tuesday evening to clean up water that was used by the Jefferson City Fire Department to wash the remaining fuel and firefighting foam from the roadway at the accident site.

Work will begin today on the excavation of a spillway near the accident scene. Fuel from the scene had seeped under the spillway, contaminating the soil underneath.

The department responded to the scene of the accident after receiving reports of significant amounts of the gasoline fuel being carried by the tanker truck had spilled. Foam used by firefighters were also entering the storm water drainage system.

Department emergency responders determined the extent to which the fuel had migrated from the site and coordinated with the Cole County Emergency Response Team and Jefferson City public works employees to build two underflow dams to contain the spread of the fuel while allowing uncontaminated water to continue downstream. Dams were built along an unnamed storm water ditch near the end of Washington Street and near Duensing field west of Highway 54. The first dam is believed to have captured most of the fuel, with the second dam being added as a precaution. The ditch is a tributary of Wear's Creek, but responders found that no fuel entered the creek.

The department's Environmental Emergency Response section is called to the scene of more than 300 emergencies each year, including fires, traffic accidents, leaking storage tanks and other incidents that could have a negative environmental impact. The department's 24-hour spill line receives more than 1,600 incident reports annually.

To report an environmental emergency, including fuel spills, please contact spill line at
573-634-2436. For more information contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at
800-361-4827 or 573-751-3443, or visit the department's Web page at www.dnr.mo.gov.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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